Travishu
by sams1ra
Summary: Sam and Dean hunt a Travishu a demonic spirit that possesses pets, but they're into quite a surprise... COMPLETED. It's my first fic, so please review.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Supernatural, or any of the characters etc., etc. …

Travishu

Part 1

It was a fairly warm day. The perfect weather to go out camping, if you were into such a thing. The many cops just outside the edge of the forest thought so, too. A yellow police tape circled the area. Dean pulled the Impala over, he and Sam looking out the window at the cops all around.

"That's a whole lot of cops." Sam noted.

"Gonna be a whole lot of dead cops if that thing gets out." Dean said in turn and reached for the glove box, taking a couple of IDs out, and handing one to Sam. The two of them got out of the car, heading for the forest.

"Hi, hi, you can't be here, this place is closed to the public." One of the cops rushed their way, stopping them from going any farther. Dean quickly flashed his ID, never stopping.

"Agent Woods, Wildlife services. We were called in." he said.

"I don't have a record of that! Hi, you, wait! No one gets in there!" the cop cried, hurrying after them.

"Good. Keep on with the good work." Dean said, not slowing down. The cop raised his brows. He had been given orders. No one was to cross that yellow tape. And wildlife services were already working the scene. He radioed for backup, and a few of his friends were quick to appear.

Dean rolled his eyes when more cops arrived, preventing them from entering the forest. He was about to say something, but Sam stepped on his foot. Again. He hated it when Sam did that.

"You guys aren't going to give me trouble, are you?" said one of the cops, his hand resting on his gun holster.

"No, sir. We're with the Wildlife services, we were hired to take care of some very dangerous…" Sam started, but the cop stopped him.

"Really?" he asked.

"Yes, sir." Sam said in his most innocent voice. The cop took a step forward.

"Well, you're in luck." The cop said, "Everything's been taken care of. Now leave, or you'll be more then welcome in our nice little jail." Sam and Dean exchanged glances. There were too many people around, the best they could do was leave and find another way in.

They drove a few miles back the way they had come, where there were no cops in sight. Dean parked the Impala on the side of the road, and he and Sam got their gear out of the trunk. Sam motioned Dean, calling his attention to a police patrol car that drove by. The brothers waited a moment to make sure no one saw them and then started towards the forest.

"C'mon, Sammy, it's going to get dark soon, I don't want this thing to get past us and start an all you can eat cop buffet." Dean said, noticing Sam was legging behind.

The two brothers have been walking around for a while, and so far, came up with nothing more then a few mosquito bites. The sun was getting ready to set soon.

"So, why do you think that thing is here anyway?" Dean asked, looking back at Sam.

"I don't know. There's nothing in dad's journal about Travishu spirits hiding in woods, but with all the talk on the police scanner, I just figured we need to check it out." Sam said.

"Well, there are plenty of furry creatures to possess." Dean said.

"Exactly. I mean, if you think a possessed dog is a problem, then a possessed bear or jackal…" Sam started, but didn't finish the sentence. Dean nodded as he walked on.

"Especially if they bite one of those cops out there…" he said, taking his EMF reader out and looking around. The EMF showed nothing.

"You know, stories about possessed animals go back centuries. Especially dogs. We could be dealing with a Black Dog, or worse." Sam said, "I mean, this thing could be what's behind all the werewolf lore, you know?"

"Damn, I knew I forgot something!" Dean said, stopping suddenly. Sam wrinkled his brow.

"What?" he asked apprehensively.

"I left the kibble in the car." Dean said, flashing him a big smile. "Here, doggy…" Sam couldn't help but smile. Shaking his head, he followed his brother on.

"The EMF showing anything?" Sam asked a while later, when they still came across nothing.

"Nope. Man, we've been here for hours, Sam." Dean said, looking back at Sam. He was getting kind of hungry, too. "I don't think there's anything…"

"Dean!"

Out of nowhere, something creepy and nasty popped out. Sam didn't have the chance to get a really good look. The thing snarled, lunging at the two at an incredible speed. The EMF reader went ballistic. They heard a gun going off before either of them even had a chance to react. The thing stopped, screeching in a high pitch sound that forced Sam and Dean to protect their ears and fall to their knees. The thing started towards them again, and another gunshot was heard, and then another. The thing roared in anger, turning back and lunging towards someone behind it. There was another shot, and the thing howled in pain, moving away so quickly, it had disappeared before Sam even got to his feet. Dean grabbed the shotgun, tense, and looked at Sam, making sure he was all right. Sam gave him a slight nod.

"What the hell..?" Dean asked.

Someone loaded the gun again. Now they could finally see who was holding it. It was a woman in her late 20's. She was short, with long brown hair, and looked very irritated.

"Are you stupid, or do you just have a death wish?" she snapped at them. "You know, I can shoot you both right now and blame it on that thing! It took me three hours to get it here! Three hours!"

"What the hell was that thing?" Dean asked.

"Yogi Bear." The woman replied tersely, "And you were the picnic basket." She added. Dean held out his gun as a man in his late 30's rushes out of the woods.

"Miss Mitchell! It was here! It was here! I could see it on my screen, the readings were off the chart!" the man cried excitedly, completely ignoring Sam and Dean. The woman frowned.

"Nolan, do you notice anything out of the ordinary?" she asked dryly.

"Well, no sulfuric residues, I think. At least I don't smell anything. I could take a better look around…" the man said, looking around, and then seemed to notice Dean and Sam for the first time. "Oh, what are they doing here?" he asked. The woman rolled her eyes in apparent irritation.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

PART 2

Sam and Dean followed the couple through the forest. Dean was legging a little behind, fighting with the EMF meter, trying to figure out why the hell it didn't warn him on time. He stopped dead at the sight of the campsite they were led into, the tent being something that didn't quite stick up among all the laptops, radio transmitters and other high-tech stuff. Sam seemed to think the same way, as he glanced back at his brother with the same look in his eyes. The guy, Nolan, told them to make themselves at home, and hurried over to one of the laptops. The woman, they still didn't know her name, reached for a cooler, taking out a bottle of water and hands it to Sam. She barely reached his shoulders, but it didn't seem to bother her at all. She said nothing all the way back, and just kept watching for anything that might suddenly appear. Dean doubted if she had any idea what it was she shot at. She had guts, he had to give her that, but it wouldn't really help her if she went and got herself killed. He would have to get these people out of there, quickly, and without the police knowing they were there.

"You two, stay here." The woman said, glaring at Sam and Dean, and then turned her attention to the other man. "Nolan, don't let them out of your sight!" she told him with an irritated tone of voice. Nolan gave her a slight nod, his eyes on the small computer screen. She was about to say something, but changed her mind, disappearing back in the woods before Dean had had the chance to stop her.

"She's a piece of work." Dean muttered under his breath, taking the bottle from Sam after he was finished with it. Unfortunately, Nolan heard him.

"Who, the ice queen?" Nolan peered back over his shoulder, smiling. "She's a real btch, but she knows her stuff." He said. Dean and Sam exchange glances. With a little luck and some charm, they might get some more information from him. Dean crouched next to Nolan.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're pretty handy yourself." He said, and then glanced at Sam when Nolan didn't seem to be taking the bait. Sam shrugged. "So, what are you doing?" Dean tried again.

"Well, I'm not sure I can tell you…" Nolan hesitated, "That… bear? From before?" Dean nodded slightly. "I'm trying to track it. Been tracking it for three days now." Nolan said. Dean glanced at Sam again.

"Really? Three days? Sounds like quite a bear." He said. "You know, we've hunted quite a few bears ourselves."

"Not like that, You haven't." Nolan cut him off.

"Why do you say that?" Sam asked. Nolan hesitated again.

"Well, I'm new, see. I'm just starting out." he said, "I came out here with my boss, you know, you pick up the trade…" he started to explain.

"That chick's your boss?" Dean let out a low whistle. "My sympathy, man."

"Actually, my boss, he's in one of those coolers. What's left of him, at least." Nolan noted. "Miss Mitchell only got here this morning. I tell you, she sure knows her stuff. Contacted the authorities, got their full cooperation, made traps, secured the area…"

"Really? Because of a bear?" Dean asked. It was obvious there was more to it than that.

"Well, it's… it's a very dangerous bear." Nolan stuttered. Dean got to his feet, turning to Sam.

"You know, we have to get to this thing and kill it before anyone gets hurt." He said. Sam nodded.

"Yeah. I'll keep the guy busy, buy you some time." He took a couple of steps forward and was suddenly pulled back. Turning, he saw the woman was back, shouldering her shotgun.

"Sit down, relax, you're not going anywhere." She told Sam authoritatively, and then turned to Nolan. "The trap's busted. It's not coming back there. And now it's pissed." She said irritably, eying the brothers angrily.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Nolan asked. She glanced at him, and then sat down next to a large duffle bag, pulling out her MP3 player and putting the headset on.

"Miss Mitchell, aren't we supposed to, like, chase it or something?" Nolan asked.

"Be my guest." Claudia said, resting her head against a tree.

"So, you're just gonna sit here?" Dean asked, astounded, "This thing could be feasting on cops right now!" he snapped. The woman ignored him, nodding her head at the music.

"Charming woman." Dean muttered.

"Dean, we should do something." Sam said urgently. "I mean, this thing, whatever it is, it's out there, and the Travishu could be out there too." That seemed to have caught the woman's attention.

"Why would you think that?" she asked, making Sam jump since he was sure no one but Dean was listening.

"Oh, I was just…" Sam glanced at Dean, "Look, we know that thing back there wasn't a bear."

"Good for you." the woman said dryly. "Why would you think there's a Travishu out here?"

"What's a Travishu?" Nolan asked, looking from the woman to the brothers. Sam glanced at Dean. He hesitated for a moment, trying to decide what, if at all, he should say.

"It's a spirit." Dean said eventually. "A demonic spirit. It takes over small animals, makes them blood-thirsty." Nolan gave a slight nod. And now Dean was sure something more was going on.

"Why would you think there's a Travishu out here?" the woman asked again, taking the headphones off and looking intently at Sam.

"Look, this is what we do. We know there've been a few attacks in the town; pets killing their owners, stuff like that. It's been happening more and more lately, so…" Sam trailed of. The woman seemed a lot less shocked then she should have been. Dean didn't like that. She glanced at Nolan, and then looked back at Sam.

"Well, that thing isn't a spirit." She said, giving Nolan a meaningful look. "And there're no spirits here." She added, getting to her feet and going over to Nolan. "Why didn't someone tell me about the attacks?" she asked. Nolan flushed, looking more then a little uncomfortable.

"I don't know. I didn't know there were any." He stuttered. "We were following up on increased paranormal activity in the area. We came across this thing, I guess we just didn't think…"

"You should report it." She said. Nolan nodded quickly.

"Now what?" he asked. Claudia glanced at the brothers.

"Now we have dinner." She said. Walking over to one of the coolers, she took out a couple of sandwiches and handed them to Sam and Dean. They seemed to have missed the questioning look Nolan give her, or the warning look she gave him back. Sitting back down next to the duffle bag and leaning back against the tree, she took a bag of chips from her duffle bag and started eating.

Dean groaned, wincing. His head was pounding. He tried to get his eyes to focus. It took him a while to realize he had been tied to a tree. _That little btch, no doubt_, he thought. _When I gets my hands on her… Wait, Sam!_ He called out for Sam, but Sam didn't answer. Dean took a better look around. There were strange symbols on the ground all around him, as well as on the tree he had been tied to, and there was a strange medallion around his neck. _Where did that come from,_ he wondered. It glittered in the light coming from…

"What the…?" a flashlight lay on the ground, not far from him, pointing its light at Dean. _Brilliant,_ Dean thought, _a large, flashing, 'come and get it' sign for whatever it was that was out there. _He tried to get to his knife, but couldn't. Whoever tied him up knew what they were doing. He cursed. _Man, that chick had better be long gone, or I'm going to teach her some manners_.

Dean sat there, trying to free himself from the rope. _She'd better not hurt Sammy, that's all I have to say_, Dean thought angrily. And then the flashlight flashed, and died out. Dean stiffened, cursing under his breath. He did his best to look around, but couldn't see much. And then, out of nowhere it seems, that thing reappeared. Dean's heart leaped. He fought his restraints.

"Oh, now that's just great!" he cried. The thing neared him, snarling. "Dude!" Dean made a face, "You know, I've got a tic-tac in my pocket, if you want." the creature snarled again and Dean made another face. "Better make it the whole pack then." He said. The thing roared, closing in. And then the strange symbols on the ground burst in flame. Dean flinched at the heat, his heart hammering. The thing shrieked in anger, and Dean winced at the shrill sound. Dean braced himself. He was tied to a tree, with a… whatever it was, about to rip him apart. But the thing didn't attack. It tried, but it seemed like it couldn't cross over the flaming symbols. It screeches in anger. Something hits it, and it roars, turning back. Dean strained his eyes. He raised a brow as he saw the woman step through the symbols, holding a wide, carved knife with mysterious etches on it.

"Whoa, what the hell are you doing?" he cried out to her, but she ignored him. The thing lunged at her, but she quickly moved out of the way, slashing its arm. It screeched and she grimaces in pain, but didn't shrink back. She jumped straight at it instead, slashing its throat before it had the time to react. It fell to the ground. She stood over it, making sure it was dead.

"Now, that was disappointing." She said, "Aren't you supposed to be a scary demon?" she added, picking up a burning twig, burning the body. She turned her eyes to Dean.

"You okay? You need a minute?" she asked. Dean raised a brow again. What the hell was going on? She just killed that thing, but who's side was she on. And where is Sam?

"Just get me out of these cuffs!" Dean demanded. The woman raised a brow at the tone of his voice. She walked over, crouching next to Dean. She took his necklace for a close look.

"Where did you get that?" she asked in a surprisingly soft voice.

"None of your business." Dean snapped. She half-shrugged.

"Fair enough." She said, taking the medallion from him and slipping it in her pocket, and then took her knife out again, cutting Dean's restraints. He glowered at her.

"Where's Sam?" Dean demanded.

"Camp's that way." The woman said, and headed off in that direction.

The sun started climbing lazily across the skies. Most of the police cars have already disappeared in distance. Sam and Dean were helping Nolan load his stuff onto his truck. The woman was talking to someone on her cell phone. It didn't sound like a nice conversation. She hung up the phone, slipping it in her pocket, and turned to Nolan.

"Well, they want you back at the office." She said. "They're gonna find someone else to train you." She added, picking her duffle bag up and shouldering it.

"What about you?" Nolan asked. She may not be the nicest person he ever met, but he didn't remember hearing about any of her partners ending up in a cooler. In fact, everyone wanted to work with her. She had quite a reputation among his people. And he could see why.

"Sorry," she said, "I don't do amateurs. Besides, I already have a partner, we caught that thing together, remember?" she added, giving him a meaningful look.

"But it's office policy to have a partner…" Nolan started.

"Good luck, Nolan." She said, "Take care." She reached her hand to shake his, and then looked at Sam and Dean. "Try to stay away from trouble, would you? Next time I see you two getting in my business I'll have you arrested." She said. Turning around, she left.

Sam called Dean's attention to the side of the road. They were in the Impala now, heading to town. The woman was still there, trying to hitch a ride. Dean glanced in the rear view mirror. There was no other car in sight. He slowed down as he neared her, popping his head out the window.

"Need a ride?" he asked.

"Actually, yes." The woman said, a little surprised from the offer.

"Well, good luck with that." Dean said, flashing her a smile, and drove away.

TBC

Hi, I'm just getting started, two more chapters to go! Please R&R!


	3. Chapter 3

PART 3

It took them a while to find a vacant motel room. They were both exhausted, and Sam still suffered the aftereffects of whatever it was they used to drug him They both went straight to bed. Dean woke up a few hours later. No reason to sleep the day away, they still had work to do. Glancing over to make sure Sam was alright, Dean rolled out of bed and got dressed. He went outside to the vending machine and bought himself a cup of coffee and a snack. His stomach growled. They'd have a real breakfast when Sammy wakes up. In the meantime, this was still an ongoing hunt, as far as he was concerened.

It was late noon when Sam finally opened his eyes, stretched, and sat up in bed. Dean glanced at him from the small desk he had been working.

"Mornin' Sunshine. How's your head?" Dean asked. Sam scratched his head.

"Better." He said. The headache was gone. He sighed, getting up, and went to the bathroom. Dean motioned at an open box of cereals and a carton of milk and Sam nodded, taking the cereals and eating right out of the box.

"That's amazing." Dean said, his eyes set on his laptop. "There's nothing about last night in any local paper or news. I mean, with all those cops around, you'd think someone would want to be famous." Sam sat down on the bed.

"So what do we do now?" he asked. Dean looked up at him, a little surprised at the question.

"What we came here for. We go get that Travishu." He said.

"You still think it's here?" Sam asked.

"Any reason it shouldn't be?" Sam shrugged. He was rather hoping they would move on.

"Where do you want to start?" he asked. Dean leaned back in his seat, looking at Sam.

"Well, I was thinking, the Taylors were the first family attacked. We should start there."

The boys reached the Taylor house not long after that. Sam knocked on the door and a young boy answered.

"Hi there" Sam bent over a little as not to frighten the little boy. "Are your parents home?" but Mrs. Taylor was already on her way to the door, wiping her hands on a dish rag.

"Who is it, honey?" she asked her son, who looked at her, and moved away from the door, darting inside the house. Sam straightened, smiling at Mrs. Taylor.

"Mrs. Taylor, my name's Ben, and that's Jerry." Dean stepped in. "We're students, doing a research about abnormal pet behavior. Would you mind answering a couple of questions for us?"

Mrs. Taylor seemed a bit surprised, and a little suspicious, but after some convincing from Dean, she let the brothers inside. She offered them a cup of coffee they both gladly accepted.

"We realize this must be hard for you, losing your daughter like that…" Sam started. Mrs. Taylor flinched. Her hands shook and she put her glass down, fighting the urge to burst up in tears.

"It was awful!" she said in a small voice, "Jenna was always playing with Chichi, she never once bit anyone before."

"Do you have any idea what made it attack? Did your daughter do anything?" Sam asked. Mrs. Taylor shook her head.

"Of course not! We still have no idea how it happened. Chichi was fourteen, she's been with us since before we had the kids. She was old." She said and got to her feet. Walking over to the mantelpiece, she took a picture and brought it over, giving it to Sam. It was a picture of her daughter and the dog. It was a tiny, furry dog, barely reaching as high as the little girl's knee. "We all loved her. It was like losing another child, but we couldn't risk it." Mrs. Taylor said brokenheartedly. "We had to put her down."

"And you have no idea what would make her act like that?" Dean asked, "You didn't notice anything… strange going on before the attack?" Mrs. Taylor shook her head.

"No, nothing. She used to sleep in the same bed with Jenna. Look at that picture! You explain to me how that dog bit my daughter's leg so hard it crashed the bone! Explain to me how it killed her!"

Sam and Dean thanked Mrs. Taylor and made their way back to the Impala.

"No way that mockup of a puppy would crash bones. Did you see that picture?" Dean turned to Sam as he took the keys out of his pocket. "That dog could fit in my pocket!"

"Not unless there was something more going on." Sam agreed. "I think we should see the Moors next. That's the last victim. They live not far from here." He suggested. It was getting late, they'd better hurry.

Dean drove over to the Moor's house. It wasn't far from the Taylor's but it was far enough to confirm the possibility it was more than just an angry dog. Dean slowed the Impala down, noticing the woman from the previous night getting out of the house, hugging a sobbing woman. The woman, probably Mrs. Moore, smiled at her and got back in the house. The woman kept looking at the closed door for a moment, and then turned, noticing the Impala pulling over. She frowned, heading their way.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded.

"Picking up hot chicks. Did you see any?" Dean snapped at her.

"I thought I told you to stay out of my business!" the woman retorted.

"Since when is this your business?" Dean demanded. The woman was about to say something, but then changed her mind. She sighed.

"Look, I'm sorry if I seemed rude last night, but I was trying to save your lives." She said.

"By drugging us and tying me to a tree?" Dean wasn't about to let that go.

"Oh, you were safe, I had my eyes on you." The woman said, and then half-shrugged. "Besides, you made excellent bait." She added with a slight smile.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" Sam was quick to intervene. She bent over to get a closer look at him.

"You said there was another beastie around here. I'm just doing my job." She said.

"No, that's our job. Your job is to get your pretty behind out of here!" Dean snapped.

"I'm working this job. And I work alone!" the woman said authoritatively, and then left before Dean had the chance to say the last word. Dean stared after her, and then turned to Sam.

"Wanna guess why?"

The brothers decided to leave the Moore family for another day. If that poor woman just talked about her kid being killed, she wasn't likely to want to talk about it again. They made their way to the Lessiger house instead. Dean was still a little ticked off, and Sam picked up on it, walking in long strides to stay ahead of his brother, just in case.

"So, what happened here anyway?" Dean asked him as they made their way to the front door.

"One of the most recent ones." Sam said. "They lost their baby boy, less then six months old."

"Fluffy again?"

"Yes. It's just that Fluffy's a cat." Sam said. Dean gave him a surprised look, and then knocked on the door. A man answered it a moment later.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Mr. Lessiger, my name's Sam, and this is Dean," Sam started quickly before Dean had a chance to say anything. "We're students of animal behavior and we were wondering, if you wouldn't mind, if we could ask you some questions?" The man looked at them for a minute, hesitating, and glanced back inside.

"Could you just give me a second?" he asked. Sam glanced at Dean.

"Sure, no problem." He said. The man gave a slight nod and closed the door.

"So what's the connection between all these people?" Dean asked, trying to pass the time.

"Well, they all live here, they all have pets and kids…" Sam started, scratching his head.

"Wow, Colombo, that's a great catch. That college education of yours at work. No, I meant other than the obvious. Why would the Travishu go after these people?" Sam shook his head. The two of them looked around, looking for anything out of the ordinary as they waited for the man to come back. "What's taking so long?" Dean asked restlessly. He didn't like that. _Of course. Me and my big mouth._ He thought as a police car pulled over. Dean rolled his eyes. "I just had to ask." He muttered. A cop got out of the car, walking over to the brothers.

"Would you two come with me, please?" _what, not even a 'good evening sirs'? doesn't look good._ Dean thought.

"What's the problem, officer?" Sam asked. The cop sighed, holding his belt.

"Look, we could do it the easy way or the hard way. Which would it be?" he asked. Dean and Sam exchanged looks, and Dean rolls his eyes, shaking his head and heading for the Impala. "Now where do you boys think you're going?" the cop asked. Dean stopped, exchanging a another look with Sam and looking questioningly at the cop. "I'm going to have to ask you to come with me." The cop said.

"Oh, come on! We just wanted to talk to the man, what's wrong with that?" Dean demanded.

"You're interfering with police work." The cop said, "You've been warned before, you should have listened. Now, you're not going to make me cuff you, are you?" he asked.

Sam and Dean were escorted to a cell. Dean shook his head in frustration as the cop locked up and left them there. Well, at least they didn't take their prints yet. But that's coming, and when it does there's gonna be trouble. He sat heavily on one of the beds. He had to think up a plan. _Now, if only that cop was a woman…_ he thought. Sam walked around the cell for a while, and then sat down too. This didn't seem to be one of their better weeks.

"Now that's just great!" Dean said eventually, still unable to think of a reasonable excuse to his miraculous resurrection. Sam looked at him, a thoughtful look on his face.

"You remember her saying anything about being a cop?" he asked.

"Who knows? I wasn't really listening, I was too busy being bait." Dean said. Sam sighed.

"How long do you think they'll keep us here?" he asked.

"Don't worry, I'll think of something. I'll get us out of here by breakfast." Dean said confidently.

The next evening Sam and Dean were still lying on the uncomfortable bunk beds. Dean was in a foul mood. They processed them earlier that day. They will probably be running a print check every minute now… Dean hasn't said a word in hours. Sam was getting a little worried about that. He sat up at the sound of nearing footsteps. A cop came over, keys at hand.

"You've got a visitor." The cop said, opening the cell. Dean sat up, exchanging a surprised look with Sam, and then got to his feet, walking over to the cop.

"No, not you, the other one." The cop said. Sam glanced at Dean, shrugging. _Who would want to visit him? No one even knew he was in jail_, he thought, but followed the cop nonetheless. The cop stopped at an opened door leading to a small room, motioning Sam inside. Sam hesitated a moment, but then walked in the room, the cop at his heels. _Great,_ Sam thought as he saw his visitor. _That woman again. Hasn't she done enough already?_ He thought.

"Anything else, ma'am?" the cop asked the woman. She smiled at him. She had a nice smile, Sam noticed, but quickly banished the thought from his head. She was the reason he and Dean were in jail in the first place.

"No, thank you." The woman said kindly. Sam was a little surprised at how kind she sounded.

"I'm right outside, in case you need anything, miss Mitchell." The cop said, in what Sam thought was a lame attempt to sound as pleasing as possible. The cop left them alone, standing on the other side of the door. Sam looked at the woman.

"What do you want?" he asked gruffly. She smiled at him. Sam blinked. She really did have a sweet smile. It was completely disarming. But then he remembered how he spent the last day.

"Want to sit down?" the woman offered, motioning at a chair across from her. Sam remained standing. "All right. As you wish." She said. There was no trace of anger or irritation in her voice. "I warned you and your friend to stay out of my business." She reminded him.

"And we told you this is _our_ business." Sam snapped at her, but then remembered where he was. If he was to get out of this place, being rude probably wasn't the ticket. He sighed, sitting down. "Look, we didn't know you are a cop." he said, "But you have to admit, the way pets have been behaving in this town lately, something is not right." The woman nodded lightly.

"Well, sure, with a Travishu on the prowl." Sam couldn't decide if she was being cynical or not.

"Look, I know it sounds strange, I can't really explain it…" he started, but then she put a heavy journal on the table between them. His dad's journal. Sam hesitated.

"Interesting read." The woman, looking at Sam. "Most of it is actually quite right. Well, not the demon parts, but the rest is quite good." She said. Sam blinked, stunned. _What did she just say?_ "We haven't formally been introduced." The woman went on. "My name is Claudia Mitchell. I'm not a cop, I just… have really good connections. I do this for a living." She said, motioning at the journal. "I was called in here because of that poor excuse for a demon, I didn't know about the Travishu." She explained. Sam said nothing. He didn't know what to say. _She was doing this for a living? She hunted, for a living? She was doing this by choice? Who is that woman!_ Claudia stared at him for a moment. "You know, that's when you introduce yourself." She noted. Sam shook his head.

"I'm Sam." He said.

"And the other one? He's your brother? Dean?" Claudia asked.

"How did you…?" Sam asked. Claudia looked at him for a second, and then took the journal back, leafing through it quickly until she reached the page that said _Dean 35 -111_

"I'm sorry about your mother." Claudia added in a soft voice a moment later. Sam seemed shocked at this. "This belongs to your dad?" she asked him and he gave her a small nod. "He says there was a fire of unknown origin. That your mother was hanging from the ceiling. Was she still alive?" Claudia asked. Sam blinked, shaking his head.

"Why? Why do you…?" he stuttered.

"Sometimes they don't die right away. Sometimes they're left as a warning." Claudia answered slowly. "Sometimes they can even see… tell… you know, why they were killed. Then again, demons rarely have a reason to kill anyone. They just… do." She shrugged.

"How do you know?" Sam asked in a small voice. The question about his mother seemed to have come out of nowhere. It hit him like a fist in the gut. _Who is this woman?_

"I told you, that's what I do. Look, I've done some reading about this Travishu thing. It's a demonic spirit. Now, demons I handle all the time, but spirits… that looks more like your kind of thing." She said, cutting back to business. "I can get you out of here. That is, if you help me kill that thing." She said, looking at Sam in a look that was all business.

"What about my brother?" Sam asked.

"You do a good job, and I'll let your brother out, no charges." Claudia answered. "Good deal too, if you ask me. Considering he's supposed to be dead and wanted for questioning about a couple of killings. What do you say?" Sam blinked again, his mind racing.

"We're going to have to find it first." He said. And then they would have to get Dean out of jail too, to help them look. He was good at that sort of thing. Claudia smiled at Sam.

"Already did." She said.

TBC


	4. Chapter 4

PART 4

Sam's heart was pounding. He had his gun drawn and ready. They were in a dark ally, hunting for a little dog, if you could believe that. And there were literally dozens of dogs out in the streets, how were they supposed to find the right one? If it even possessed a dog at the moment. Claudia said it did, but could he really trust her? He glanced at her. Claudia didn't even seemed to be nervous. She sort of reminded him of Dean that way. Something caught Sam's attention.

"Look out!" he cried, stepping in front of Claudia, pointing his gun a large dog.

"It's just a dog, Sam. It's not it." Claudia said calmly. He glanced back at her.

"How can you tell?" he asked her. She didn't look at him.

"I just can. Come on." She said, pulling Sam after her.

"You know, they can move really fast." Sam mentioned, "And they can switch bodies fast, we have to make sure it's trapped before we kill it."

"You just find a way to make it less of a spirit and more of a demon, and I'll take care of the rest." Claudia said confidently, again reminding him of Dean.

"That's if we ever find it." He muttered. She stopped dead, looking up at him.

"Okay, now ask for a million bucks." She said. Sam looked questioningly at her. She gestured at a small, harmless looking puppy.

"You're kidding." Claudia slowly took out her knife, making no sudden moves.

"Just do your thing." She said.

"Are you sure?" Sam pressed. She didn't take her eyes off the puppy. It looked back at her, all small and innocent. It sure didn't look possessed, but hi, if it wasn't, then nothing would happen when he tries to expel the demon, right? Sam leafed quickly through his dad's journal and started chanting. The puppy starts barking. Its eyes glowed for a second, and then something seemed to be pulled out of it. _Damn, she was right!_ Sam thought. The demon took the form of a small, twisted beast.

"Er… Now what?" Sam asked hesitantly. They were facing a demon now. That wasn't something he was looking forward to doing without Dean by his side to back him up. As far as he knew, that Claudia chick might have led him straight to a trap. _Damn, I should have thought about that before…_ Claudia looked at Sam, a confident smile on her face.

"Party time." She said, "Stay back. Don't worry, this won't take long." She said, gently pushing him back. The beast thing growled, slowly moving towards them. Claudia moved in front of Sam, again, reminding him of Dean. "That's right, come and get it." She muttered, her hand reaching slowly at her side, where she kept her knife.

"Shouldn't we… I don't know, shoot it or something?" Sam asked nervously.

"If it makes you feel better." Claudia said. _It sure would_, Sam thought, and emptied his clip on the thing, but the bullets didn't seem to be doing any damage. Sam's heart raced.

"Feel better?" Claudia asked with a slight smile.

"Not really." Sam admitted. Her smile widened. It wasn't a condescending smile. It was genuine, warm. And for some reason, it made his heart beat even faster.

"Don't sweat it." Claudia said, slowly taking her carved knife out. She made her way slowly at the beast as it snarled at her, revealing two rows of sharp teeth. And then it lunged at her. Sam jumped, but Claudia quickly pulls something out of her pocket, throwing it at the beast. It hauls in pain and anger, retreating for a moment, only to lunge again. But Claudia was ready. She slashed it with her knife, and, moving with amazing speed, she cut its head off before it had the time to recover from her last attack. Blood splashed all over. "Damn it!" Claudia cried. Sam flinched. Sometimes, demonic blood was poisonous unto itself.

"What?" he asked, quickly nearing her. She turned to face him, wiping blood spatters from her face and looked quite irritated.

"I liked this shirt!" she exclaimed, holding the shirt out. There was blood all over it. "I'm going to have to burn it now. I haven't met one dry-cleaner that can take these stains out. Human blood, fine, but that stuff really sticks!" she muttered. Sam smiled, shaking his head.

"That's it?" he asked, but she didn't seem amused. "I didn't know you can kill a demon simply by using a knife." He added. Claudia's irritated look quickly changed as she looked into his eyes.

"That's 'cause you can't." she said, showing him her knife. "Those runes, that's what does the trick. Gives it a little more punch. And the fact that its blessed probably helps, too." She shrugged. Sam took the knife from her, studying it as Claudia lights up a match and burnt the beast's body. "Just in case you get any ideas," she said, watching the flames engulf the creature, "that knife wouldn't be much of a help if it weren't for what I did before."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked. She turned to him, flashing him another smile.

"Trade secret." She said, "Maybe I'll teach you sometime." Sam smiled back at her. Well, it seemed Nolan wasn't lying after all. That woman knew her stuff. And that smile… it really got under his skin. The two of them made their way back to the Impala, Claudia still cursing about her shirt.

"You know, what you did back there, it was a little crazy." Sam said. Claudia shrugged.

"My therapist says I'm suicidal. But hi, I'm the best in the business." She smiled. Sam smiled back at her, getting in the Impala. He wandered what Dean would have to say about that.

Claudia and Sam got out of the Impala. Claudia looked at the police house in front of them, and then turned to Sam. She like him. He was cute. And it seemed he knew what he was doing. At least more than that Nolan. And she was never going to see him again. They started towards the police house. It was kind of nice, hunting with him. But she always hunts alone. Always. She can't put other people at risk, she can't see them getting hurt because of her. But, maybe… He did know what the Travishu was.

"Hi, Sam," she stopped, "That thing that killed your mom? I'll keep an eye out." She said. Sam stared at her.

"Thanks." He said, and then started kept going towards the police house.

"You know, you were pretty good back there." Claudia said quickly and Sam stopped again, looking back at her. "Seemed like you actually know what you're doing. I mean, with the spirit stuff." Sam smiled, nodding his head self-consciously.

"Thanks." He said, "You did pretty well yourself. With the demon part." Claudia smiled.

"I can teach you." She offered, making Sam smile again. She liked his smile. "And, you know, I wouldn't mind learning more about that spirit stuff. I mean other than salting and burning, I don't know much about that stuff." She said. Sam stared at her. _Is she coming on to me?_

"You know a lot more than most." He said.

"You know, that guy, Nolan, he got me in trouble." Claudia said, "Jin, my boss, he got furious when he found out I made up another partner. Now he wants to pear me up with… I don't know, another Nolan, I guess. Those guys never keep up." She bit her lower lip. "So, I was thinking… I know we've had a bad start, but, you and I, we can really cause some damage out there." _Oh, my God, she is!_

"I don't know… Look, me and my brother, we're sort of…" Claudia shook her head, raising her hand to stop him.

"Oh, okay. Never mind." She said quickly. _Doesn't matter. Stupid thought anyway. I hunt better alone,_ she thought. _So he's cute. Big deal._

"No, it's just…" Sam said quickly, but Claudia stopped him.

"It's okay, Sam. I'm a big girl." She said. She did think it was cute that he tried to make her feel better. "I've been hunting on my own since I was seventeen. I _am_ going to tell Jin you're my partner though, get him off my back." The look in her eyes, Sam didn't know why, but he hated that look. It was the complete opposite from her smile.

"Look, it's not that I don't like you…"

"It's okay, really. Look, I don't have a job lined up anyway. I'll just travel for a while, look for trouble. It's not usually difficult to find." She gave him a small smile. Time to get this over with. "Now come on, let's get that brother of yours out of jail. Unless you owe him for something…"

Dean signed the dotted line, giving the papers and the pen back to the officer, who then gave him his things back. He dodged that bullet, and man, it was a close one. _That_ was one horse he wasn't going to look in the mouth. Sam was waiting for him at the door and he joined him, heading for the Impala. Dean made sure they were out of any police earshot before he turned to Sam.

"About time. What took you so long?" he demanded.

"I was a little busy. We went hunting for the Travishu." Sam said, and Dean stopped.

"Hold on, you went hunting this thing without me? Sam! That's a demon, what were you thinking?" he demanded. Sam looked at his brother. _I can do the job just as good as you can if I wanted to! That big brother card, it's getting old, _he thought.

"I wasn't alone." He said, "And we got it. We killed it."

"Really? And who's we?" Dean demanded. Sam didn't answer. He started walking towards the Impala again. Dean called out for him, but he ignored it. He smiled at Claudia, standing and waiting for him by the car. Dean, however, was less enthusiastic to see her.

"What the hell is _she_ doing here?" he asked, catching Sam by the arm.

"She's coming with us." Sam said in a matter-of-fact tone. Dean's jaw dropped.

"Over your dead body! No way!" he cried.

"Dean…"

"That chick's insane, she's not going anywhere with us." He said, "I don't even want her anywhere near my car!" Sam gave Dean a long look.

"I told her she could come." He said calmly. "Look, she killed the Travishu, she's really good at this stuff. And she knew right away that thing that killed mom's a demon."

"Hold on, how does she know about mom?" Dean demanded.

"She has dad's journal." Sam said reluctantly. Dean seemed to get even angrier.

"She what!" he cried.

"Look, she can help us." Dean shook his head.

"No way, Sammy."

"She made your file disappear." Sam said, glaring at Dean. _Why did they _always_ had to do what Dean wants? _Dean blinked.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"You're supposed to be dead, remember? The shape-shifter from St. Louise, the one you killed, the one that looks just like you?" Sam pressed on. "She made the file disappear. She has connections Dean, she could really help us." Sam said. Dean stared at him for a moment, and then glanced at Claudia. He shook his head, walking past Claudia, and opened the driver door. Sam looked at Claudia in an apologetic look. He was getting really tired of always having to do things Dean's way. "Dean!" he called out, making Dean stop, "She could help us find dad." He said.

"Dad doesn't want to be found, Sam." Dean said. He was tired of having this argument. He was about to say something, but Claudia started talking just as he was about to open his mouth.

"Sam, don't. It's okay." She said, touching Sam's arm. Sam looked at her.

"No," he said, shaking his head. "Dean, come on. You're being a jerk."

"I'm being a jerk? Sam, she's cute, but she's not that cute." Dean spat back. It wasn't what she wanted. She didn't want to start a fight. The last thing she wanted was to get between them. They were brothers. They were a family. She couldn't come between that. Besides, being on her own wasn't so bad. And it wasn't like she was always on her own, there was the occasional cute guy every now and then… Her cell phone started ringing. She answered it, listening for a second, and then hung up.

"Look, you two can stop arguing, okay?" she said, "I got a job. There's something going on in Indiana they need me to check on." She said, and then stood on the tips of her toes, pecking Sam on the cheek. "Thanks for trying, though." She told him, picking up her stuff and turning to leave. "I hope you find your dad." She said and turned away. Sam gave Dean an angry glare. Claudia stopped a couple of steps later, turning back to Sam. "And Sam, that thing that killed your mom?" she said, catching the looks of both guys, "Whatever it is, you're not ready for it. I'd leave it alone for now." She said. Sam looked intently at Dean.

"Fine! But she's not driving my car!" Dean cried, getting in the car and slamming the door shut.

* * *

N/A: I hope you liked the story. I'd really appreciate your thoughts about it, so please review! Next story will be coming up in a couple of weeks! 


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